Famed Italian eatery Il Mulino bursts onto the South Beach scene in the most posh of neIghborhoods.
Simple yet perfect: Bruschetta is piled high with bright red tomatoes at Il Mulino in South of Fifth.
Heat President Pat Riley strides into Il Mulino in a light-pink button-down shirt, sleeves rolled up, looking every inch the don of Miami sports that he is. As he lowers himself into his seat, an efficient team swings into action: A server clad in white with a dark bow tie helpfully scoots his chair under him. Another stands by patiently with a napkin to drape across his lap. From the kitchen, yet another server emerges with an enormous wedge of Parmigiano-Reggiano for “Signor Riley,” followed closely by a cadre of coworkers each carrying an enticing offering: spicy zucchini chips, medallions of soppressata, four choices of bread, including a bruschetta piled high with bright red tomatoes.
Even Riley, no stranger to the royal treatment, might find this display impressive. The choreography is seamless, almost as if the Hall of Fame basketball coach had drawn it up on a whiteboard himself. But Il Mulino’s kingly treatment of Riley isn’t remarkable. In fact, this kind of whirling service has become a bit of an Il Mulino calling card. “This is the culture we believe in,” says Executive Chef and Naples native Michele Mazza. “When you come in the restaurant, we want to make you feel very important.”
Executive Chef Michele Mazza’s earthy Italian food keeps diners coming back.
Located in a 2,000-square-foot space in Miami Beach’s glitzy South of Fifth neighborhood, Il Mulino has only 84 seats, each table dressed with a white tablecloth and surrounded by white leather chairs. Mazza says he waited at least five years for the right South Beach location, and size was a crucial factor. “I don’t believe in [a] big place,” says the chef—no surprise considering how difficult it would be to meet such a high standard of service in a large restaurant.
Il Mulino’s dining room has a mere 84 seats, adding to its superlative service
Of course, Il Mulino hasn’t thrived for 30 years on service alone. Starting with its New York flagship, the restaurant now has nine locations (including one in Sunny Isles Beach; there are also three locations of sister establishments Trattoria Il Mulino and one Il Mulino Prime), and Mazza’s earthy Italian food is what keeps people coming back. From antipasti to dolci, the menu holds few surprises, but Mazza isn’t trying to wow guests with outré creations. Rather, his approach is to honor the cuisine of the motherland, and to that end he says he imports 95 percent of Il Mulino’s ingredients from Italy. So while staples like fried calamari, minestrone, tortellini, osso bucco, shrimp fra diavolo, and whole branzino will sound familiar to just about everyone, they won’t taste the same way unless you’ve had the pleasure of dining in the Old Country.
A dessert of frutti di bosco with hot zabaglione.
Come the end of your meal, you may want to resist the allure of classic tiramisu and instead order the fruit plate. Your server will arrive at your table with two peeled oranges and, with a paring knife and deft hands, proceed to carve out segments, arranging them one by one in a wonderful whorl on your dessert plate. After adding an assortment of berries, kiwi, and candied orange rind, he will light a match, drop it into a snifter of warm Grand Marnier, and drizzle the liqueur in a stream of blue fire onto the artful array of fruit.
Elegant, meticulous, delicious. It’s the epitome of Il Mulino in a single dish. 840 First St., Miami Beach, 305-372-1221